Buried threats have proven to be extremely dangerous on the battlefield. The current preferred method for detecting these buried targets is to use downward-looking ground penetration radar. In general, these radar systems perform adequately when the antenna apparatus is placed close to the ground surface and directly above the target. However, the major drawback of these systems is that they lack standoff capability.
More recently, new emphasis has been placed on a GPR system that exhibits standoff capability. Another key element in defining the utility of these systems is their ability to detect buried targets in the ground. While short range penetration of road dust and other media is typically not a problem for most radar systems, it is known that high frequency radio waves (at or above S-band) do not penetrate ground very well.
Meanwhile, lower frequencies have been shown to penetrate ground and other media much more effectively, and have been documented in the past. (See, e.g., S. Vitebskiy, L. Carin, M. Ressler, and F. Le, “Ultra-Wideband Short-Pulse Ground Penetrating Radar: Simulation and Measurement,” IEEE Trans. Geosciences and Remote Sensing, Vol. 35, No. 3, May 1997, pp. 762-772; and L. Nguyen, K. Kappra, D. Wong, M. Ressler, and J. Sichina, “Mine Detection Performance in Different Soil Conditions Using Data from an Ultra-Wideband Wide-Area Surveillance Radar.” Proceedings of SPIE, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets IV, pp. 930-941. August 1999.) Such a system, coupled with the ability to interrogate an area from long distance will provide new capability on the battlefield in the future.